Mattress



July 1940- M. HUTCi-HN SON MATTRESS Filed Sept. 26, 1959 K MM ZMPatented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MATTRESS v .1. FrancisM. Hutchinson, Mariemont, Ohio Application September 26, 1939, SerialNo. 296,590

3 Claims.

Mly invention relates to mattresses for beds, and consists in particularrefinements in mattress construction, by virtue of which a sleeper mayrest his head upon a pillow and yet lie on 5 a substantially levelsurface, his head not raised by the pillow above the general level ofthe mattress.

Essentially the mattress of the invention is stepped at its head end,providing a reentrant recess that afiords accommodation for a pillow,with the effect that a sleeper may lie prone, with his neck freelyextended in natural alignment with his spine, and with his head restingupon the pillow in the recess.

A mattress embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. I is a view of the mattress in plan from above.Fig. II is a view of the mattress in side elevation, with a pillow inposition in the reentrant recess provided in the head end of themattress; a sleeper is shown in dotted lines, lying outstretched uponthe fiat of his back. Fig. III is a fragmentary view of the mattress andpillow in side elevation, illustrating the sleeper lying upon his side.Fig. IV is a fragmentary view of the mattress in side elevation,illustrating a modification in detail.

Referring to the drawing, the mattress I may in all respects other thanthosepresently to be described be of known construction, consisting in athick bed of hair, cotton, or other material of which the bodies ofmattresses are usually formed, enclosed within a rectangular clothcasing. In usual way the edges and corners of the mattress may bestrengthened, by means of a sewn piping or beading l0, and the body ofthe mattress may be reinforced, at spaced-apart points in its expanse,by means of the usual internal ties (not shown) that are anchored to 40buttons or tabs ii. And, if desired, the mattress may be provided withinner springs, and with air vents, and with such other structuralrefinements as are already known to the art.

In accordance with the invention, I form in 45 the rectangular body ofthe mattress a reentrant recess 2. Such recess extends along the edge ofthe mattress at its head end, and is continued throughout the breadth ofmattress from side to side. The recess is adapted to affordaccommodation for a pillow 2, the body portion of the mattressimmediately beneath the recess providing a pillow-supporting shelf, soto speak, whose upper surface extends in the horizontal midplane of themattress body. It will be perceived that the pillow 3 is positioned withits upper surface in substantially common plane with the upper surfaceof the mattress, and, as so positioned, the pillow is adapted tosupportthe head of a sleeping person at substantially the same level that themain body of the mattress supports his 5 torso. As shown in dotted linesin Fig. II, the sleeper may lie prone on his back, with his head restingupon the pillow, and his neck extending freely in natural alignment withhis spine. Reclining in this natural position, the sleeper is morecomfortably and completely rested.

The mattress of the invention also is more comfortable and restful to asleeper who lies on his side. It will be understood that a person 1yingon his side on the usual fiat mattress, has one of his shoulders (theshoulder on the side on which he is lying) pressed beneath him, in suchmanner that his chest is cramped, and normal respiration is hindered. Inthe use of my mattress this objection is obviated. As shown in Fig, III,the shoulders of the sleeper extend beyond, or outward from, the corner2a formed in the mattress at the inner edge of the reentrant recess 2,and the shoulder on the underside of the sleeper, extending downwardinto the recess, is supported by the body portion of the mattress thatforms the floor of such recess. The arm and hand on the underside of thesleeper lie in the recess, and may be comfortably positioned beneath thepillow, as shown. It will be understood that in this position thesleeper rests comfortably, with his head and neck extending in alignmentwith his spine. Inrefinement, the recess 2 may extend into the body ofthe mattress beneath the corner 2a; that is, the shoulder formed by therecess in the mattress body may be inclined (as shown at 21) in Fig.IV), with the effect that the sleepers lower arm may be more comfortablypositioned.

In still further refinement, the body of the mattress is provided with asecond reentrant recess, 20, extending along the lower edge of themattress, diagonally opposite to the edge on which recess 2 extends. Theadvantage of such elaboration is that in service the mattress may fromtime to time be inverted and reversed in position, in such manner thatthe foot end of the mattress becomes the head end, and the lower recess21) becomes the upper pillow-receiving recess 2. Such occasional turningof the mattress prevents the mattress body from sag-- ging in theregions where the weight of the sleeper is most concentrated.

My doubly recessed mattress is provided with a filler member H10 that insize and shape cor- 55 responds to the recesses 2 and 20. The fillermember may be, though it need not be, constructed of the same materialsas the body of the mattress itself. The mattress is, indeed, a twopiecemattress. In service the recess in the nether face of the member Ireceives the member I00, and the recess in upper face of the member Ireceives the pillow 3. While the filler member I00 is shown as a unitstructure adapted to be supported, within the nether recess of memher i,freely upon the springs or other support of a bed, it is contemplatedthat within the appended definition of invention such filler member maybe embodied in, or may form a part of, the mattress-supporting structureof the bed.

Conveniently, a strap or an elastic tape 6 may be provided on themattress, as shown in Figs. I and II, to assist in holding a sheet inproper position. When the sheet has been applied, the tape 6, extendingacross the top of the sheet, serves to hold the sheet snugly to themattress, particularly in the corner of the recess 2.

I claim. as my invention:

1. A mattress, otherwise of simple rectangular form, having a reentrantrectangular recess extending along one edge of the mattress body andfrom side to side, such recess affording accommodation for a pillow,that a sleeper may lie prone with freely extended neck and with his headresting on a pillow within the recess.

2. A two-piece mattress including a body member, otherwise of simplerectangular form, having equal reentrant rectangular recesses extendingalong two diagonally opposite edges of the mattress body and from sideto side, and a filler member of simple rectangular form and of size andshape corresponding to the said recesses adapted to be applied to andfill either of the said recesses, whereby the mattress may be laideither side up, on a horizontal support, with the filler member in placein the recess in the nether face and the recess in the upper face readyto receive a pillow.

3. The structure of claim 1, together with a tape extending transverselyof the mattress body and. adapted to secure a sheet in snug positionupon the recessed body of said mattress.

FRANCIS M. HUTCHINSON.

